PSYC328 Behaviour Analysis in Everyday Life

This paper takes a closer look at how basic principles of behaviour analysis (e.g.
operant conditioning) can be used across a range of situations to modify behaviour.
Situations include consumer behaviour, physical activity and exercise, and education
in the treatment of issues such as substance abuse and skills training for people
with autistic spectrum disorders.

A large component of this paper will focus
on community behaviour change, looking at how we can modify everyday behaviours, such
as reducing littering and petrol consumption and increasing pro-social behaviours
such as foodbank donations and voluntary work. Group project work is involved, in
which you will design and carry out an intervention to target a local community issue.

PSYC 328 consists of both lectures and lab classes, as well as group project work.
In the first five weeks of lectures, you will be introduced to the main principles
of applied behaviour analysis (ABA). In weeks 6-13, we will explore how ABA can be
applied across a range of everyday situations (see course outline for details). The
final week's lecture will include some revision and a question-and-answer session.

For each lecture, there will be an assigned reading(s) that you should read prior
to coming to the lecture. Lecture slides will be made available on Blackboard prior
to each lecture.

A large component of the lab programme is the planning, design,
and implementation of your group projects, which form the basis for your second written
assignment (30%) and group presentation (5%).

The final mark consists of 50%
internal assessment (15% research proposal, 30% group project report, and 5% group
project presentation) and 50% external assessment (one final exam).

Textbooks

As the paper covers topics from a diverse range of areas, there is no textbook
for this paper. Instead, a selection of journal articles and readings will be made
available on eReserve (link on Blackboard).

The key components
and considerations for how applied behaviour analysis (ABA) research is conducted.

How
the basic principles of ABA can be used across a range of everyday situations to modify
human behaviour.

How to identify a community problem, conduct a literature
search for previously identified solutions to the problem, choose a possible solution,
design an experiment that would test whether or not your proposed solution is viable,
and write a proposal that would allow others to carry out your experiment.

How
to carry out an experiment to test a social intervention, analyse data, and write
up a report of the results.